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And see how I go. One. Hi, everyone. I'm sorry for the delay. It will take just two more minutes. Please hold on and we'll make sure that the event will start as soon as possible. Mhm Hi, everyone. So thank you for joining us and sorry for the wait. I am very pleased to introduce you to Zoe, 1/5 year medical student in L1. She has done the new assembly. She has her insights about it and we in the UI S are very pleased that she was here to tell you all about the exam. So without further ado I'll let Zoe start and Zoe, I will share the presentation. So you may be thank you. Uh Thank you so much Yale. Um and you, I MS for organizing this. This is so nice and for all of you for coming, I really appreciate it. Uh We had a bit of like a technical difficulty with sharing my presentation. So I'm sorry for the delay. Um Y was gonna share it for me and um go through the slides as we, as we continue. I just can see it right now. So um let's just wait OK. OK. So, um well, um I must say that like uh this is very exciting for me. Um I took my step one a few months ago and it's, it, it, it ended up being a positive experience. Um My name is Zoe, I'm 1/5 year medical student in um the first Faculty of Medicine in Charles University. Um And yeah, I think uh we can start like can go to the next slide, please. OK. So this is what we are going to talk about today. I really tried to like um talk about all of the like most important things in my opinion. Um And kinda like build it from the beginning. So even if you don't know anything about step one, you'll manage to like uh um uh like stay along and, and understand everything. So, um yeah, and I like, this is all based on like my, like my experience and the experience of um my colleagues and friends that took the step on recently. So um I like highly recommend and, and invite you to question everything here and um just find your own path because um I'm gonna repeat this over and over throughout the presentation. But honestly, I think it's such an individual um process and I'm, I'm, I'm gonna do my best to like present to you as many strategies um as I possibly can. So you can choose the one that works best for you. Um But yeah, just like uh just like as, as a small disclaimer. OK, we can start now next step. OK. So about like generally about the exam. So uh step one is um sort of like a summary of all of your preclinical knowledge from the American point of view. Um I think like for me, like uh i, it felt like the material, like as a, a student in European University, I must say that like the, it feels like they put emphasis on other things like uh from what I was used to. So um it's all about um both understanding the concepts broadly and also like memorizing very small intricate facts and being able to like just answer random questions. So um it was quite of a challenge to adapt to that um system. Um But yeah, um it's a pass or fail format as of like um a few, like, I think a few years ago um and they don't really like post their, like uh the passing threshold. So um they say it's about like uh 62% but like, honestly, I, II don't know. And I think like, it, it varies depending on the, on the day when you take your exam and about like a bit about the registration uh process. I'm not gonna get into much detail, but like uh there are two main pathways for Regr for the Yosemite um When you go to the U Assembly main website. Um And we as international students uh use the E CFM G pathway. Um Then uh it's gonna redirect you to their uh website with all, all of the information and it's very organized. It, it takes quite some time, I think like about one month to complete all the steps. And by the end you'll get redirected to the promet uh website, uh which is where you're gonna be taking your exam. Um and you're gonna book your exam date. So, um a bit about the questions. So questions in the US 70 are multiple choice. Uh The number of choices can vary, can be four choices or like 10 choices. Um And there's only one correct answer and it's usually gonna be like a clinical vignette described to you. Um with many details, it's like a paragraph long. Uh It can contain like media like uh you can auscultate, uh the heart sounds or you can get some uh pictures of like radiographs or uh micrograph. Um We can get lab values everything you need to know in order to understand the um like what the uh tester is trying to clear you in. Um And then you are asked about a specific uh fact. Um So it's very dense. You don't have much time for each question, but you kinda get used to that type of uh um the type, this type of testing. So, um it gets, it gets easier. Um The questions are organized in uh 40 question blocks and you get one hour for each block and there are seven of these. So the entire test day is eight hours and then seven hours out of these uh are gonna be your blocks. You get 45 minutes of a break and in the beginning you have 15 minutes of the tutorial um where you're also gonna be checking your headphones. So as I said, some of the questions require uh uh listening as well. So you in your little cubicle, you get like also a set of headphones and you can check them in the tutorial. Um There's actually the possibility to view this tutorial in advance and I highly recommend you to do so uh because all of this extra time is gonna be added to your break. So if you do that, you get nearly like an hour uh long of a break uh for your day and you can split it. Uh However, you like, like for me, what worked for me was uh a break after each block made me feel a bit more fresh. Um But like uh ii heard some people like do three blocks um and then only take a longer break. It's up to you, but you should decide on this in advance because it's it like you're not gonna be uh want wanting to like waste time like uh deciding and, and stuff like that, like you should have your plan. Um And about the questions um you just get like everything um including the reference lab values and the calculator. Um So we don't have to worry about these things. OK. Next slide. So um I think like the way that I would like to organize uh this lecture is like, first of all, we talk about all of the resources and then we kinda like start uh organizing them into different strategies and uh different scheduling options. So if you can go in the next one, please, uh Probably if you go on Google and you just type like how to study for the U Assembly, you came across this amazing duo and to be honest, um I'm a huge supporter. Uh It worked out amazing for me. But like, if no, no, this is just, can you go back these things? Uh This is the first aid book. Um It's ii mean, it's a bit controversial. I'm gonna talk about this uh this later. Um But this is a book that essentially like sums all of the information you need to memorize for the exam. And this is your world, which is the main question bank used by most students. Um It is a very safe choice. There are other options for question banks. But uh honestly, I'm so proud, like, I'm so sorry, I'm so happy like uh that I chose this one because like, it's, it's, it's really amazing. It's that good. And you'll see uh it's the only time uh today that I'm gonna say the word must because for me, it's a must. And if you have to choose one resource for the USM, please choose your world. It's, it's really good. Ok, next time. Thank you. Ok. So, um this is a concept that like, took me a while to understand and uh ever since I realized that it made my study process a lot easier and a lot uh less um devastating. Um but like the different resources that we have actually serve different purposes. And um I believe that if you try to like, uh use them intentionally, uh the way they're supposed to be used, then it's gonna be a bit easier for you um to kinda like get the most out of them. Um But the way that you use them should be tailored to you. So, um it really depends on like, uh like your study strategy in general. But um the way that I like kind of think about is is that we have the learning tools, which are the main ones, like uh they're gonna guide your studies for the USM. The top ones that I wrote here are like the question bank. So your world, there's also the Ambos Question Bank, which I heard is pretty good. Haven't tried it though. Um And Kaplan, um you have all the different video resources. I personally loved uh boards and beyond. I think it's a great resource to like kinda um relearn subjects or like um if you don't know anything about a subject, you just need like a safe uh fast way of like reviewing and these videos are really good. Um AOA which is so high yield for pathology. Um Many of us use it for our pathology studies. Um I think it's, it's very good for the assembly, especially chapters 123 which, which are not to be very high yield. Um And also you can also use AMBOS. Um If you just need to quickly search something, uh It happens a lot when you go through questions and you just want to uh study something very um efficiently, then you have everything in ambos can be a bit much um in my opinion, like that, they have a lot of information over there. But um overall, I think it's a, it's a good resource and uh it condenses uh everything into one fact sheet, which is good. Um Then I think the hardest distinction for me was like uh between learning tools and evaluation tools as like, you know, I, I'm gonna show the um demo of like how your world looks like and if you slide, but um when you first go and like you open the, the uh website, like you're gonna have your dashboard, like with your account, your um information and all of your stats. And um I mean, it, it can be a bit confusing like you see exactly how much um like your grade is for like the entire usage and also for each block you're taking in your world. And uh like, I know that some people really base their um ability to like their, their own confidence of taking the exam based on these grades. And I personally think it's a mistake because there are some uh resources which are uh designed to be for evaluation. For example, the self assessments by your world, the N BM E tests, uh the free 120 I'm gonna get to that later. But that's just like uh in the main year assembly website, you get like sample questions which are uh about current uh tested topics. So this is very important. Uh like these resources are um very indicative of like uh where you're at. Um And I think like, if you wanna make the most out of your question bank, use it as a learning tool rather than an evaluation one. And then lastly, we have the memorization tool. Uh Obviously AKI is gonna be uh the most amazing choice here if you have time and uh you manage to like stay on top of it. Uh sketchy. Uh If you're a learner, I think it's, it's so high yield, like uh it, it essen essentially just like some microbiology and pharmacology uh for the exam. And I managed to do the correlating cards uh with it. So it was amazing and then you get other um uh resources the first thing in the morning. Some people love them. So um check them out. Um Yeah. OK. Next slide. Thank you. Ok. So what's the deal with first aid? Um I mean, like some people don't consider it like a, a real medical book because it's so dense that like it's, it's hard to read. It's not the type of book you can open just like study uh the material like uh as a first pass, II would say that like, it's very good for materials that you already got tested on in your finals. I just want a quick review. Um And also the way that I use it was like as my sort of like guide of what to study from each uh organ system because, you know, if you go on the Yosemite website, you check, you search for like a list of topics for the exam, it's gonna be like a book on its own. Like the there are so many diseases and you really have to like um know specific thoughts about each of them. And this book does amazing, amazing all in like telling you exactly what you should memorize. Uh It has amazing diagrams and tables and it's really like I II like it but some people don't and it's OK. Um And I wish I used it more in my preclinical years honestly. I think like uh it summarizes some topics very well. Um And there's also like the idea of like using it as like your annotation hub. Like they put that on um um introduction. Um I think you should just be careful not to waste too much time on annotating uh the the first aid book just because like it can be a very positive way of learning. If you already went through, let's say you watch Sketchy once and now you wanna put all your notes in first aid. I think like the like the best way for you to implement the info information you studied is just gonna be through practice questions. So just make sure that you um like you put it a limit to it. Um And for me, my way of like um dealing with this is just to add notes of things I got wrong um in your world and this is like kinda how I kept track of uh of everything. Uh because these spots kind of like pile up and uh when you write them over and over again, um in these pages, it's kinda like uh it's, it's a good way to flip through the book. So this is what worked for me. Um And you can try it. Um OK, excellent. Your world. Amazing, amazing resource. I think like it's mostly about the explanations here. Um Whenever you finish a question, um you get an explanation um of everything about that disease um or the topic that they are uh trying to test you. And also uh why the correct answer is correct and why the incorrect answers are incorrect. And um I highly recommend you to read everything because honestly, you have everything you need for the exam here. Um And I think we can just uh all of the information I put in this slide. Um I think it's, it's best if we see the demo. So the next slide um if you can OK, if you switch. So this is from the U assembly um from the, sorry, the website, this is their, their demo to like show you how the dashboard looks like. Um So this is what you're gonna see whenever you, you open your account and you see so much information here, which I think a bit overwhelming. But um at the top left, you get your overall score. Um This is what I meant by like, uh I mean, for me, it was a bit harsh, like, uh because at least at the beginning when I was still like trying to study new information, the yes, my, my grades were a bit on the lower side but uh it, it, it gets better. Um And also the percent of usage which I wasn't expecting to be so um meaningful. But like when, when I first like, uh started to um go through all the materials for the U assembly and kind of like do my research then, um I watched all these American youtubers uh telling you to like, do your world twice and review everything. And like today, like from, from my point of view, I think like, you don't necessarily need to complete uh 100% of usage um in your world. Uh If you wanna succeed in the US, it, it already comes down to how you use this. So um don't get overwhelmed by this as well. If this is not yours, uh like ideal study strategy, then um it's OK uh to find something else. Um But yeah, OK. Um You get other things which are very useful here. Um For example, if you go on the uh right hand side on the top, you can see like answer changes like from let's say, correct to incorrect. Um I think it's very useful to like kind of like analyze uh your performance basically of these. So you can um like identify patterns uh If you tend to like change to incorrect answers, then um you can try to avoid that in your exam. And then on the next slide, this is when you are trying to create a test. Can you go? OK. So I couldn't fit this in one page. Um But this is how it's gonna look like whenever you uh want to create a test in your world. And uh I'm gonna walk you through um one by one, all of the different um things you can choose. So first thing is test mode, it's, it can be either tutor mode or timed mode. The time mode is mimicking the exam. So it's gonna calculate the amount of time. Um uh The exam should take you uh based on the amount of questions you chose for that block. Um I think it's very useful towards the end when you're trying to like work on your uh test taking uh strategy. Um and kind of like stay in the time limit because it can be uh hard for some students. Um And then tutor mode kind of like stops you after each question, like the time is gonna elapse anyway. But like uh whenever you finish a question, it will stop and let you um uh see the correct answer and the explanation. So you can study each question separately. And I think it's very useful for the beginning. Uh because when you were first like studying uh new material, uh it's not about the timing like you, you should really um maximize uh each block to understanding new concepts. And I think it's very useful. You can also combine the two if you feel like it II did that as well. It was nice. And then you have the question mode. Um Mostly you're gonna be using the first one marked here, which is the unused um because you wanna see as many new questions as possible. But um um something I found very helpful towards the end is to also do some de uh dedicated blocks for the incorrect one. Because um it just give you an opportunity for um like active recall um of concepts you already studied and to see how you managed to improve. And I really like it as well. So I recommend you to try it if you want and then you can choose uh either if you wanna do it by subjects or by systems. And this is a dilemma, like some students say that like it's best to start mixed questions all from the beginning. II, for me, it was like, II couldn't see myself doing that. That's like such a broad exam. And there are so many topics that uh it, it seemed a bit overwhelming but um, what I did was to work my system, which is also something that um many people do just like, um uh let's say I took like, um five days for a cardiovascular because it's a your topic. And then I try to uh reach a high percentage of usage out of that topic. And then when I finished, I moved to the next uh organ system until I finished them all. And then the last month before I took my exam, I mixed all the questions and um worked on like uh uh this type of test taking, which is uh like the real exam. And lastly, you can choose the amount of questions. Do you wanna put in a block? You can do it in 40 question block. Like it is gonna be in the, in the exam. But you can also do less uh sometime uh sometimes I did like a 20 question block and it was, it was nice and easier and took me a little less time. So OK, we can proceed to the next one. OK. So, uh I think it's, it's like essential to talk about question types and uh question um answering strategies uh if we talk about your role because this is like the main um study uh resource in my opinion. So, um there are many types of questions and if I can group them, it's gonna be by the reasoning pattern. So it can be like a simple question like um but not uh commonly, it's usually gonna be like a more complex um uh situation where they will describe a disease to you and you're gonna have to like understand which disease it is uh by the symptoms and lab values and everything and then uh answer about like a secondary um uh fact or even tertiary, we're gonna have one example soon. So, um it's usually like this more complex uh thinking patterns. It also be like a random fact um which is also very common. So, so just don't get discouraged. Uh You're not gonna know everything. So it's OK. Um This is also something I think they test you on like how you deal with the stress. Um In my opinion, it's a very mental exam. So um just like keep that in mind. OK, this next slide. So how to approach a practice question um about the timing. Like I kept uh the one minute rule for myself, but just because like I wanted to be strict. So I will have time by the end to go back to all the questions that I had no idea what to do with. So, uh that's just the way that I did it. You can obviously, if you have one hour for 40 questions, you don't have to keep like uh one minute for each, you can do a bit longer. Um It's very, very recommended to start reading it from the last sentence, like from the actual question because um many times they're gonna add a lot of unnecessary details uh inside the vignette. Um and you just need to be focused on what you, what, what, what exactly are, are they trying to clue you in? What, what are they testing you about uh in this question? So, um we, you trying that uh it takes a while to kind of get used to it, but uh it's, it's worth it. Um We have a few features uh in your world and in the exam to highlight uh specific facts uh to cross over unnecessary uh like answers that you, that you don't think are correct. Um So I think that it's, it's useful to do that, especially in the longer questions and um just like, just know that like, if you don't answer a question, it's gonna like, immediately uh be counted as wrong. But uh the, like you can never go, uh, it, it's, it's not gonna be that bad if you just guess if you don't know. Uh, it's ok. We've all been there. Um, so just like, don't leave any unanswered uh, questions. I think it's like, uh, uh you might be correct, like, uh try to do your best to like find some educated guests and, and it's gonna be OK? And there's also the possibility of black questions so we can get back to them at the end of the, of the block. OK. So this is a simple question. I uh found, II use the, the dirty medicine uh youtube channel a lot. I think it's so good. Um gonna talk about it a bit later. But um uh like 30 like uh post these videos with like amazing mnemonics. And he also has like a full playlist for um practice questions about um very high topics and this is one of them. So I thought maybe I should use it as like a, a reminder for you to, to maybe use this uh youtube channel. Uh So I'm gonna read quickly the question uh starting from uh the last sentence, which is the question itself. So which of the following tests should be ordered next? Uh Now there are two possibilities. Either you uh would like to read the answers or you wanna get back to the top and read everything. So for me, I usually read um the the entire question and then go to the answer. So 31 year old Hispanic female comes to the office for a routine wellness checkup. She has a childhood history of mild intermittent asthma. She was last seen four months ago for a depression screen after she had her third spontaneous abortion, they review her lab work, which is remarkable for the following. So you have the lab work here. Uh I can see that uh RPR is positive and now um there are different answers. And if you go to the next slide, I marked kinda like uh what II would mark in the exam if, if this was uh an, an exam question. So, first of all, she's 31 years old. So um like we like dirty medicine cause this the autoimmune uh window. So, um it's suspicious for an auto autoimmune disease. Uh It's her third spontaneous abortion. So, usually female with repeated abortions in the Yosemite is usually gonna be antiphospholipid syndrome. Um And then the RPR uh positivity is also marked if you don't know RPR is one of the tests for syphilis. Um And that's a bit weird because they didn't mention any of their sexual history. So, um uh that's like something they're trying to confuse you in and then to go on the next slide, it kinda marked uh like crossed over the the answers which are um not relevant. So like uh obviously, like urine pregnancy test is irrelevant, urinalysis also like uh there's a cost efficiency efficacy um concept like in medicine in general. So you're not gonna just order random uh random test and CBC is al already the there in the, in the lab values. So obviously, it's not gonna be that then we have to decide between the uh first and last answers which are both related to syphilis. So essentially what they're asking here is how do we rule out syphilis and prove that this lady has uh antiphospholipid syndrome uh with a false positive uh results for syphilis, which is something uh you should know about uh antiphospholipid syndrome. Um And then um the last one of the neural disease research of artery test is also false positive. So if you go on the next slide, then you see that the first one is the correct one. So I'm not here to like to, to teach you anything. Um I just chose this example because I think it kind of shows uh the way you can kinda uh think about um uh the, the questions like uh how, how that I would like you to approach them. The idea here is that sometimes it's gonna be very obvious which answers can be crossed uh over, but sometimes uh it's gonna be quite confusing and you, you will have to choose. Uh and here the, the detail of like VDRL being also false positive for antiphospholipid syndrome is uh is key. Um And unfortunately, it's, it's something uh we need to memorize. So, um that was the way to, to figure it out. But yeah, I hope, I hope it will help you ki to kinda like I uh get the idea. I just, I just have to mention that like usually the, the questions in the exam are gonna be a bit longer, but I have to choose this one because it's a bit on the shorter side. And I want us to have like time for questions by the end. Um OK, so next slide, please. Thank you. OK. AKI. AKI is the most amazing, amazing resource for active and space repetition. Um There's a premade an deck um that you can just uh install on your a key and then like uh progressively unspent cards as you go, as you watch videos, as you study uh new materials. Uh You can also make your own deck. Um This is something I kind of like, like tried when I was setting for my finals, but when it came to the year, like I didn't have much time. Like II really wanted to focus on practice questions. So uh what I did was like to um add uh progressively cards that are related to questions I got wrong in your world. And this is like, this was my way of like reviewing the material. Um but honestly, like, at a certain point, I think, like, maybe two months before my exam II just couldn't, like, fit it in my day. It was too much. So I stopped. Um, it didn't work for me. Um, but yeah, if it, if it works for you and you manage to keep doing it, like some people even make Anke their primary um, study resource and then they uh do less uh, um, a few world. I'm gonna talk about this. Uh When I, when I uh show you the different study strategies that I um suggest. But um yeah, just keep that in mind that it's not for everyone. It's a great, great, great way to study, but like it's not for everyone. That's OK. Um If you do use a, just start early, there are so many cards for this. Uh like the, the first uh the, the first step for assem deck is, is very heavy. And if you wanna go through most of the cards, then you, you need to start early. Um And with that said, like if you went through, let's say you studied uh uh microbiology and you finished your sketchy uh micro uh related cards already, you don't need to go through them again when you're uh studying for step one. Just like uh just like if you went through it once it's, it's somewhere um in your brain and just like uh you can do some active recall um pretty pretty amazingly with uh with practice questions. So it's not necessarily to, it's not necessary to just like uh keep adding cards. Um If you already went through them. Um I also use the search bar in AKI quite a lot because um if you have the a deck and you wanna like uh uh quickly uh go through some facts, um uh you can just uh look it up in the search bar and so it's kind of like summarizes all the most high resources for you because uh for each card, there's a description also. So I think uh it's very useful and you can also add your own notes if you use a sort of like uh your notebook and you got a concept wrong in your world, then um you can just add it there, there's a, a lecture note uh tab where you can type in or put screenshots. Um So it's very useful and next one. OK. So this is what um I was referring to by the study strategies. Um Before we're gonna go into details of like how to time and, and schedule um your study process, I think uh like, you should really uh focus on like choosing the resources and then uh choosing the strategy in which you're gonna use them. I uh noted here that like um a few strategies that I came across. Um so you can uh be inspired by them but feel free to like find something that works for you. There's no like right or wrong here. Um I personally use the 7030 method. Um So what I did is to initially work by system and I tried to reach 70% of usage for that system and to leave 30% of, of the questions uh untouched. So by the end when I finished to go through all of the systems, I had about one month of like doing mixed blocks um to prepare for the exam. Um There's also, as I mentioned earlier, the possibility to mix your questions from the beginning. Um Just be aware that like revising those blocks is gonna take a bit longer because uh many of the concepts are gonna be new to you. Um And then what I heard that people uh did was to dedicate a half a day for those mixed blocks and then half days for like uh uh maybe watching uh videos and studying uh materials that you need to review. So it's, it's gonna be a different um uh layout for your day. So take that um in mind and then some people did like uh an sort of like an anti predominant uh method where they really stick to ac and have like daily do cards. Uh Just be aware that the numbers are gonna be very high. Like if you, if you base your knowledge on ac and you really want to study everything off of it. Then you're gonna unspent many cards from ac. Um So we just need to do all of them. You need to be consistent. Um And then do several blocks of your world a week just to like, you know, um, work uh and assess yourself and see where you're at and kinda like, uh uh work on the test taking strategy. Um But just keep in mind that you're not gonna reach like high percentage of usage out of the um year old uh uh question just because like, uh you're gonna put most of your time in an, that's OK. That's just like uh it's about your personal preference um how you study better. Um But yeah, many people uh do some combination of these. So uh yeah, if you have um I'm gonna leave my contacts by the end of the presentation and if you want to like uh um uh if you, if you like debating on a plan and you don't know what to do, um I'll, I'll be glad to help. Uh But yeah, these are just some examples. OK? Mean break. Um give you a moment, OK, youtube resources. So, as I said, I love dirty medicine. I think like uh when you really need to like memorize something fast, um um And you just need like a uh acute pneumonic then um this is a great way to kind of like uh finish it within 10 minutes. Um You'll see that like, as you get towards your exam, you really need to squeeze lots of information um in one day and these videos are just like their bomb really? Um A few uh playlists I uh suggest you especially to check out are the ethics um which is not like, at least in my faculty it wasn't taught um that thoroughly and from the American point of view. So um like dirty medicine kind of like sums it up uh very nicely and gives you example of like different situations. Um So it's nice, the high yield images, it's a great, great playlist um when you need to fast, like fastly review all of those images that can uh show up in your exam. Um And you can test yourself through it and the video question bank uh from which you took the example previously, it's pretty good uh for biostatistics. Uh There's the famous Ran De Need um uh series videos. Um I use it and it's, it's pretty good, like you can um learn it uh from other resources, but at the end, it's all about like knowing how to answer those uh questions. So uh what he does is essentially like bring lots of examples for like questions that can really like show on your exam, like they, they can really be tested on. So um I would recommend to like uh have a piece of paper next to you and just try to, to solve the questions uh with him. OK. Next slide, uh other resources uh probably you're gonna reach to these um more in your uh let's say, preclinical years. Um And as a side note, I like II added my uh my classification of resources to the side because like, I think it's very, it's very important to keep in mind that like uh um each resource serves like a um a different uh meaning if you will. Um But I highly recommend boards and beyond. Um especially for subjects that are not covered by sketchy and patho. Um Patho is, as I said, very, very high yield for um pathology. And the first three chapters really cover um like a very important uh um like section in the exam, dealing with all of the immune system and all of the, the details about the immune response and inflammation and all of that. So um some people even say that uh if you have to choose something to watch like the day before your exam, rewatch these three chapters. II didn't do that and II don't recommend it. I think like rewatching videos is very passive and they're gonna be helpful for you. But perhaps if you wanna like have a read um and then try to test yourself on it, then the, then it it may be a bit more active. But um but yeah, it's very high and very important sketchy, obviously, as I said, especially for uh microbiology and pharmacology. Um I did like both of them through frequently. So II didn't review them in my dedicated study period. And um um OK. And here uh is a bit of like a summary of all of the assessment tools. Um I see that some of you are writing questions um in the chart. So I'm gonna get to them um when we finish. So, um thank you for uh for writing them. Um I, I'll try to like answer all of you by the end. OK. So assessment tools. Um So, I mean, I would use them mostly towards uh the end of your study period. What I did was like the month before my exam. I took an assessment uh once a week and obviously went through it and checked all my answers. Um I wouldn't do any assessment like about 10 days before your exam because it, it can just be very discouraging and um it's not gonna like change your uh grade much to just take another assessment. You better just uh dedicate all, all time to like uh setting and, and revising uh materials you already went through. Um But they, they can be very powerful um and kind of guide you towards subjects that um you need to uh reread or res study. Um So the Ambien mean, um I mean, well, maybe previously the U SME um was similar to the style of N BM E questions. But even though N BM E is quite of like an official resource to use. I found that the the questions were quite different from my exam, like the N BM E uh style of questions is very um like those very short questions um with not much detail in them. And in my exam, like I had like full paragraphs of clinical vignettes. So it's it's a different style but the concepts tested in those short questions in M BM uh were very uh useful to revise. So I think um it's not completely useless to use it. Um And some people say that it was very similar to their exam. So you can never know um that, that's just from my experience. Um Some people uh recommend to do like an initial assessment when you first start studying. So before you even like studied anything, just take some assessment and see where you're at. I wanted to do that. But II was so like, uh I don't know, I think I got so overwhelmed by the beginning of my study period that I just II thought it, it's not a good idea for me. Um And I'm glad I didn't honestly, I think that um um like for me, II really studied a lot from this assessment but it, it was because it was by the end of the, of the study period and your world is a really good resource and it's kinda like a a testing experience. So I think uh it kind of covers for that. Um But if you wanna see where you're at, so it's a possibility. Um there are some uh score predictors online if you really want to know where you're at. Um If you took like a, an assessment and, and you wanna see like if you're passing the, the, your assembly, but um there is some deviation um from that, like um they say that like uh the, the self assessment by your world are over predictive. Um even though I personally found them very hard. So um they were like, I think equally as hard as my actual exam. Um And about the free 120 this is like uh like the way that most people call it. But honestly, it's just like the sample questions in the assembly website. Um They say it's like uh like they, like, if you go there, you see that it's like a current tested topics and they, they are supposed to update it from time to time. Um So it's very like, it's recommended to just do it as close to your exam as possible. Um And there's a possibility to book like a practice session in the parametric center. And what you're gonna be tested on in that practice session is gonna be the free 120. So they are completely like, they're, they're free and, and you can access them from your computer. Uh If you want to pay for a practice session, this is something that I did and, and I highly recommend um So you're, you're gonna be essentially like tested on the same uh same questions. So you're just gonna have the testing experience. So you go on the prometri and it's like you're sitting uh in your cubicle next to people who are, who are taking your, their step one. So it's, it's like a full experience and um I did that mostly for the mental prep and um I'll get to that later, but like, um I think it's very useful to go to the testing center. Um Even if you don't take a practice session, just like, um see where it, where it, where it is located, like find the, like fi find the, the class and like uh see the place. So like, it's kinda like when you, you go on your first, uh um like, if you, if you do that for the first time on your exam, then it can be a bit stressful and it's early in the mornings. Like, I know for me it's like the form of a practice session was actually pretty useful because I managed to kind of learn um through this experience um that like my stress was like decreasing throughout the block blocks. And this is something that I wasn't aware of before I took this uh this uh opportunity. So I think it's, it's also useful not only like uh on the psychological level, but also like um um from the test taking uh strategy. So, um what, what you get, like when you finish it is like sort of like a report of your score in percent. And um I noticed that like, it's three blocks and like my um grades increased uh significantly from block to block. So kinda, yeah, like uh remember that and on my exam day, I uh I tried to remind myself that if I just uh be calm and, and, and let myself like, ease into it then uh maybe I'm gonna have like a good uh good grade from the 1st 1st block uh going forward. OK. So after we uh finished all of the, like a review of the study resources, now we can start uh the doing your uh study schedule. And the way that I'm gonna approach this is to divide it into three main uh steps. You have your preclinical years. Um And essentially like your finals that you're taking through preclinical. It's very important to have like a solid base, I think for me, it, it was just very helpful um because I felt like um the interconnections between the subjects by the point um I reached uh my dedicated study period uh was all things to like the um hard work uh when I was first studying for finals. So, um that's important and then you have your clinical years um and the predated period. So it's gonna be a few months, a few um starting to study for the U Assembly. And then the dedicated study period is like, I know that in the United States, like they, they give them like uh maybe 6 to 8 weeks to study for the exam off of uh of university. Um for you, it might be a bit longer. Uh but this is the time you're gonna be uh doing most of your practice questions. And if you go on the next slide, I kinda like explained for each what I recommend you uh doing. So for preclinic, I study well for finals, maybe use all the supplementary resources uh as you're studying uh like the SOMA and sketchy. Um And all of that uh for the pre dedicated periods uh for several months, you can choose either you wanna start your question blank already or you just want to review uh subjects um with some video resource like words and beyond. Um or with auntie. Um uh either way, like uh I think like studying for this exam is going to take you a few months. Um because like as international students, like our studies are not um designed to fit this exam and, and there are some gaps I think and some, some topics that you need to review that you may be uh you, you may be studied like a few years ago. So uh it is important to give yourself enough time to study them properly and then dedicated study period. Um I wrote 2 to 3 months. It, it, it varies like it, it, it's up to you. Like, I think for me it took like, uh, about 22 months. Um, maybe, maybe a bit more. Um, but this is the time that you're gonna be, um, uh, dedicating yourself for, uh, your world or your other question bank. Um, you really need to take the time for each block you're doing to revise it thoroughly because everything is in there. And um it studies so much just from like the incorrect, there's something about like um the way they, they build their questions, um really covers uh each topic uh from every direction and you can never know sometimes that like an answer that's incorrect in one question can be correct in another. Um So it's very important. Um You can take notes. Um I wrote in your face first aid book because this is what I did. But you can use uh any other modality. You can take your notes in AKI or um you can um uh do some AKI for your missed questions. Uh There's also a feature inside your world to take notes, uh like like a digital uh notebook and also some flashcards in your world which are nice. Um So you can do that. Um And then you can take your practice tests, as I said about once weekly um before your exam. And next slide is kind of like uh more uh uh dedicated for the uh LF one students here. Um I kind of thought maybe to do a brief overview of how um to integrate the different materials throughout your preclinical years. Um Like if you, if you study elsewhere, just like uh if you can see, like we, we study by discipline, so you can just try to adapt this to your um your schedule. Um But essentially it's just uh repeating what I already said. So as you have a final, let's say, uh pathology, pathophysiology, uh you can use patho um uh if you have pharmacology sketchy farm and the correlating anki uh for a certain period of time, that's gonna be very useful uh in your fourth year when you start going into clinical rotations, some of the rotations really like correlate with materials of the assembly. So always try to check if you have some boys and beyond videos that can be watched when you're studying for a final or you can maybe open your first aid book and you're gonna find some diagram that you want to memorize already. Like um try to be creative. You can also start this like uh way earlier in your 1st and 2nd year. Um But uh as you like as you start this earlier, you're gonna find less and less um material, at least like uh correlating material, at least for my faculty. But um um I think the earlier, the better and next slide is just sort of like breaking down the dedicated period that I said. So what I should do the month before a week before and the day before. Um, we can kinda see like where I was at mentally at each of these uh stages. Um So the month before, um this is a very scary time in your studies because like you, it really feels like every day counts and you need to be focused and you need to be on top of yourself. You need to be consistent. Um I did like uh my weekly self assessment, I tried to revise only the subjects that I repeatedly got wrong. Um I integrated some blocks in your world from the incorrect pool just because like I, as I said, like I didn't manage to continue with and II did want some sort of like active recall and space repetition. So this was my way of doing it. Um I booked my practice session. II A actually II remembered this like too, too late and the only available slot was like four days before my exam. Oh, no, I think even two days. No, I booked it four days before my exam. And then I had like my practition two days before, but I took it and I'm so glad I did it. It, it was uh it was so good and like uh put me in the right mental state to take my exam two days later and I tried taking care of myself um working out twice a week, at least, um seeing people. Um But it was hard, it was a hard time the week before. Um I highly recommend to watch some, uh some of the playlists from dairy medicine if you need to memorize more facts. Um I tried to kinda adapt my schedule to the schedule of the exam. So sort of like a part of my mental prep. So I started studying every day between 8 to 9. Uh So just like to um get my uh clock sync back. Um I talked to a friend uh who finished uh her exam recently and that was really helpful. Like, sometimes all you need to, to hear is like uh uh someone explaining you that uh it's, it's just like everything like, like II really remember her telling me that like, everything I studied is already in there and like, uh there's not much I can do and just like, uh it's all about like the mental prep now. So I'm gonna reread some of my notes. But uh honestly, by this point, you are a week before your exam. So it's not gonna matter that much if you do another U blog or not. Um II wa was quite strict about not uh doing any other self assessment besides the free 120 in my practice sessions. Um And then I just decided on my break schedule. So I knew that in advance and I realized that for me, it was um, uh quite essential to take a break after each walk and the day before, I mean, honestly, looking back, I think I should like, I should have like stopped studying earlier. Um, but I studied until I think five pm. Um And then I scheduled like a fun activity to kinda like, clear my head. But obviously I was like, uh, too worried about the exam. So I wasn't, uh uh like, II, II wasn't calm at all um of this uh evening and night. Um I recommended to pack your snacks to maybe squeeze in a workout in the morning. So people say that like, uh it helps you sleep better at night because uh um like you're gonna be more tired by the evening. I don't know. II just took everything I could, you know, I just look for any advice I could. So II felt like uh I should write it here as well. And next slide is the exam day itself. Um I think as I said, like the Yosemite is, is a mental exam and yes, they test you on like these crazy topics and uh the most like intricate detail and, and facts. But at the end, it's, it's more about your performance that day than it is um uh the actual study process because I feel like, yes, my study process was harsh. But um my testing experience was pretty good because I felt like I was prepared for everything. Um It's gonna happen that day. I brought everything I need. I put like a, a short list here of everything I packed to eat. Um uh just for you to, I don't know what to consider. Uh I watched a youtube video uh saying that you shouldn't bring coffee because it will uh make you pee more. Uh But honestly, I don't know how you can survive such an exam without coffee. I actually met a friend uh throughout that day, uh in, in step one. Um, and she didn't bring coffee because of that video and because I had two cups, two full cups, I shared it with her and she was so grateful like there's something about this exam by the fifth block, you're gonna be like dead and you're gonna want uh your coffee if you drink it. So, uh yeah, highly recommend. Um just don't forget to bring everything essential like your passport, scheduling permit. Uh Everything is gonna be uh written also on your uh scheduling permit itself. You're gonna get it by email. So don't worry about it. Um You can bring a soft phone earplugs. Um And you also get, these are like uh the noise canceling, um uh headphones, um which are separate from uh the headphones used for like uh auscultating and listening to uh audio files in the exam. So, um it depends on your preference but you're allowed to uh bring earplugs uh with you if you want. Um, mm, what else I would say? Like, the overall mentality should be to keep hyping yourself up because I just don't see any other way to do it. Like, even if you don't, uh, don't succeed, like, uh, and you feel like you, you're failing, like, just know that many people feel that way and many, many people leave the exam with the feeling that they failed. And, um, it's all about, like the mentality, like if you let that affect you, um and it will be carried away throughout the blocks, then it might really affect your grade. But like if you're gonna stay focused and do your best and um it's really, it's, it's kind of like lying to yourself, but not really. So, um I really try to like hype myself up. Um I read online that like, uh the average student will mark at least 10 questions per block. So don't feel bad if there are uh so many questions you don't know and you're, you're not sure about like, um some of the questions are um like sample questions that are not gonna be graded, you don't know obviously which questions are not gonna be um included in your grade. So, um just like, try to convince yourself maybe that uh these questions are uh are not gonna be included and, and just move on, but always like, don't leave any uh unanswered questions. That's uh one thing to remember and the most important part of today's lecture is mental health. So I kinda touched on that already. Um Just like I think II really wanted to share, like, if there's one thing I want you to take uh from uh this uh this seminar is just like this is a very individual experience and if I can maybe share some of, of the things that help me, um maybe and help at least one of you, then I'll be extremely grateful and happy. Um Just try to think about it as a marathon. Not a sprint. Sounds like a cliche, but, but it is real like you're gonna be studying for this for a few months and you need to reserve uh your energy and your power and uh surround yourself with people that um will help you go through this. Um You're gonna change your plans from time to time. Um This is one of the things that was like the hardest for me to adapt to because I did so much research beforehand and like I was sure I know exactly what to do, like how I'm gonna study, but it literally changed. Um Like the day after I started studying, like it, it changes a lot when you actually uh use those uh resources and um um I don't know, getting the hang of things and see like that, like what exactly they're testing you about. Um So just be prepared, you can make a plan that seems reasonable to you. Uh try to make, make it um uh realistic as much as you can. But at the end, it's ok if, if your plans are gonna change, uh throughout this process, uh it's, it's, it's a hard experience. Um, what helped me. So, uh a friend recommended to me to have like a beast mode zone. And uh it was so nice honestly, like I heard it before my exam and I like uh I'm not kidding. You, like II think II was singing it to my head like for eight hours straight and, and it was so helpful because I was just like, so focused and um it made me feel good. So try it out. Um I like one form of like meditation you can try is like kinda like uh to imagine your uh uh test day morning. So like how exactly you're gonna get ready? How you're gonna get there? Something that helped me was to be there uh once in advance and then like kind of uh being able to imagine it better, but like, uh it really help uh really um talking to a friend. Obviously, you can study with a friend as well if you have someone around you that that's also uh taking step one. Um I didn't mention this but like in your world, if you create a block, uh you get like the block ID, whatever, so you get a number. Um And if you copy that and send it to a friend. Uh, they can open that same block in their, uh, computer and you can do the same block, like, at the same time. So it's nice. Um, and you can, uh, study together and maybe make a schedule together or just like, study one next to the other. I think it's, uh, it's very motivating, working out, obviously. Um, even though, like, uh, I can't believe I'm saying this but, but it really saved me um in my predicated period II was uh quite strict about having like a half day off. But honestly, like about two months before my exam that even that was a bit hard to uh keep up with because um I had so like, so much workload. Um And then as I said, like, uh starting to study around the same time every day um to, first of all, like organize my um my uh my sleeping hours and also to like uh get used to doing a blog at 9 a.m. It was quite hard. Um And just like I know that I said a lot that, that, that it was a hard experience and it was, but I managed to squeeze in a vacation in uh Barcelona, like five day vacation. And I didn't study at all throughout this uh day. Like II brought my first a book with me, but um I II didn't open it. So it was so refreshing and so nice. Um we don't have to go abroad, but you can take a break and I encourage you to take a break. It's ok. Uh Just schedule it in advance and um sometimes it can be even more beneficial than squeezing in a few more blocks. So yeah, next slide bit of Reddit and then the next one. That's it. So now, um I think I can answer your questions. Um Maybe I don't know if I should start from that shot or um if you wanna open your microphone and uh and ask me, let's see, yes, there will be the recording. Uh which three chapters, I think you mean um from Patho, the first three chapters are very high yield. I hope you meant that um fourth year, which month and which point in the semester did you start the actual studying for the test and predicated period? Um My plans changed like ii started the first day of uh of summer semester and fourth year. Um So essentially, like I started my rotations and um I started studying and initially my plan was to revise uh all of the video resources I already watched. Uh I don't recommend that. I think it was um very passive and not helpful. Like you should really start your questions as soon as possible. Um But uh yeah, and then I started uh really doing uh uh your questions, I think around uh June when we finished the semester and took my exam in September. Um Where do you find the anti for micro and pharma? So, ok. So I said that, uh you can download the ac uh premade deck. Um When you download it, I highly recommend to open uh some youtube video of like a guide, uh how to add some add-ons to AKI. Uh So you will be able to see uh the deck like the deck uh organized because, um, you need some add-ons uh for the app uh for that. After, after you do that, when you go to the search bar, you'll be able to see everything by topics and then you can just find the correlating um uh um like uh decks inside the decks which are for each of the resources. So, um as I was studying microbiology, for example, I was un suspending cards from uh only the microbiology section obviously. Um Did you start right away with first aid in your world or did you work on some preclinical year subject first and use for during pathology? Ok. So I recommend you if you, if you didn't use sketchy and SOMA and preclinical uh to incorporate them uh from the beginning of the studies because they are high yield and they're gonna help you to understand uh concepts you're studying in practice questions. Um But you can do that simultaneously for me. Um As I said, like initially, my plan was to revise all of those video resources once again. But I don't recommend that. I think like, uh the most effective way is to, is to like, just do as many uh practice questions as you can and study according to questions you got wrong. So let's say you already watched um like a sketchy video. Uh and you got a question on it and you got it wrong, then maybe you can watch it again if you think it's gonna be helpful for you. Um But yeah, I think like uh um completing your world might take um a few months and um you should really uh save your energy for that if you have any other questions, like I think I finished the, the questions in the chat, but you can, you can uh open your speaker and, and ask or write them now. Um Or you can also contact me. Um I'll be glad to, to help you out. No more questions. Thank you so much. So I think we'll stay here for questions. The thing is in this platform, most of the questions can be asked in the chat with the microphone. So we'll give it a couple more minutes guys. If you have any questions, you're more than welcome to write them in the chat. And so I will answer and if not, basically the lecture is over. So, thank you very much. We'll stay. Thank you. I see. There's a new question in the chat from Sean. Oh, so from the start uh studying by systems and incorporate as much questions as possible. Um Yeah. So what I did, if you study by system, you really need to make sure that you keep enough questions in the question bank for mixed questions. So you essentially like by the end, you, you're gonna want to have some period of time of mixed uh questions. So just don't do like if you're studying a certain system, don't finish all of the questions from that system. Just uh what I did was to, to complete 70% and then to have 30% of the questions uh reserved for later on when I do mixed questions. But um studying my system was very helpful for me. Um because like it can be very broad, like even within one organ system, you can have like a variety of questions. And um it's just like uh it's very hard as it is. So mixing uh questions from the beginning is, is uh like it wasn't working for me. So see if we have more, how much I would you say is the minimum? Um It varies. Like I think for completing um like a high quality study period with your world. I would say maybe 2 to 3 months is the minimum, but it really depends on like also like how well you did in your preclinical years. So um if you have a solid base of knowledge, then maybe um maybe uh two months is gonna gonna be sufficient but honestly, I it takes quite some time to get used to the, the idea of, of uh of studying and I think like the exam itself, it's so expensive and so time consuming that, like you, you really wanna take it uh once, once you're ready. So, um it's up to you. Can you elaborate more about setting for first aid? I got the book and not really sure how to use properly. Actually, I have, I have my first aid here. I forgot to show it because I just wanted to, I wanted you to know that like mine is ruined. OK? I wrote everything here. Um but not like everything, everything my way was to add notes of things I got wrong. So I kinda like made sure I sleep through these pages over and over again. So let's say I was working on a new world uh question and I read all the uh description and I found some notes that are not presenting to me my first aid book. So I added them and I had like a color coding system. So I knew exactly from each resource. Um I added that uh information from and that kind of like helped me to um visualize it because I am uh more of a visual learner. So um it really helped me to see these pages over and over again. So uh like u up to this day, like I still remember full pages of your world just like from their layout. Um So I think like uh like for imation, it's gonna be uh very useful. Another way is kinda like, um let's say, let's say you're doing half days and you do half days of questions and then half days of like, studying, you can use uh first aid for reading. Um If it's material you already know and you're just uh revising, um it could be helpful. Um And you can also use it for like uh annotation, like the classic American way of like using it for annotation. Uh As of youtube is like to uh watch uh a video and then annotate like what you learn through that video uh in your first aid book in the correlating chapter. So I can also do that. Uh But it, but it's really up to you. I think like uh um it's just like an important resource in the sense of like uh guiding you through the topics. Uh use it as a topic list. Um And uh if you're studying uh an organ system, just like uh flip through it and see that, you know, everything uh that's in there. Um Would you limit the amount of resources you had top three of uh or four? Um I think like the, the top resources are gonna be um some question back for me. It was your world. Um And then um some video resources. So with Oma Sketchy Micro uh and sketchy farm and youtube. And then as for like um some more extended like written material I would choose either first aid or ambos. So that's like my, my top selection. But honestly, if you just use your world, you can still like if you finish uh like a higher percent of it, like uh near 1 100 you can pass the exam just from like uh reading everything off of there because it, it, it really has everything and it will prepare you very well. Um So basically world was your main resource and your notebook in a way you added additional info from videos and your world into that. Um II tried using the notebook feature in your world, but it didn't work out for me that well. Um So I use it for the description like the explanation for each question. I this is like the main way I studied from and this is like sort of like a different mentality from our preclinical. So I think it's, it's like uh something important to adopt early on. Um But yes, the, the fact that I felt like are crucial from your world. II took the time and, and wrote them down. Um I wrote them in my first aid book, but you can do that also um like elsewhere, maybe open like a 10 sheet or um something like that or you can make your own an key cards. Uh You can do some flashcards in the world app like it, it's up to you. So my way was like annotating my first a book mom. That's me. Like that's what uh worked for me any more questions? Ok. So that was pretty awesome. Thank you so much for this amazing lecture. It was very nice and thank you everyone for joining. If you would like to receive a certificate for this event, you will get an email that basically said that you have to fill in your information and give us a feedback and then you can get your certificate. Thank you very much for joining us today. And again, thank you so much, Zoe. It was great. Thank you. Thank you guys. Ok?